The rabbit and the hunter
by Arthemis.Huntress
Summary: Odin finds a strange creature in one of his hunts. Who is this mysterious girl?
1. The deer

The first snow had finally arrived, and Odin knew what that meant. He walked as silently as the snow falling on the ground listening to every breath, any noise out of place, and his eyes keen as the few rays of light shinned through the trees were ready to spot his prey. It had been a while since he got a chance to hunt, now that he was once again in the forest he felt his muscles relax and his breath even. That was where he wanted to be.

 _*Snap*_

Tightening his grip on his bow he followed the sound, winter was upon him and he knew the animals would be out looking for food before it became too scarce

And then he spotted it, a brown rabbit just hopped into his field of vision. It didn't take notice of Odin's presence, but he didn't kill it at first since it was followed by a stag. By experience Odin knew it wasn't an adult yet, but it wasn't very young either, but the behavior of the animal puzzled him, it followed the rabbit around as if they were old friends, skipping around like they had not a care in the world.

He then proceed to lock an arrow in the bow as silently as he could, watching the little feather at the end of it to make sure the wind would not carry his scent to the animals and he would be able to get a clear shot, but as the arrow flew the stag moved a few steps away and the arrow found its way to its rear, suddenly scaring it and making it run away, quickly followed by the rabbit deeper into the woods.

"D-Damn." Odin cursed as he started to run after the wounded animal.

Worse than missing his shot, now he had prolonged the suffering of the poor stag. It was true he had to hunt to survive and provide for his family, but he hated the fact that the animal would have run miles before it finally died or he caught up to it.

The forest was now completely silent, the birds have stopped singing and the only sounds Odin could hear was his own breathing, the animals were probably just hiding from him right? What else could it be? But the sudden silence did worry him, what if there was a pack of wolves close, he quicken his pace.

Even the sun started to hide itself behind a curtain of heavy clouds, there was a storm coming.

He kept following the trail of blood and paw prints on the ground.

* * *

Odin got a little startled when he heard the cry. It had been approximately half an hour chasing traces of blood and tracks in deadly silence from all of the animals in the forest. Something was wrong, after years of hunting in that place Odin had learned to take cues and leave if something dangerous was around, but he needed game and he had already wasted one arrow he would not let the day be a waste.

When the silence was finally broken by small sobs and cries he suddenly stopped in his tracks. By what it seemed the deer was just up ahead and he would finally get his prize, but before he realized the air started to get warmer, even if the ground was now collecting the few droplets of snow and the wind would cut through his skin without pity, he found himself removing the first layer of animal fur that helped him keep warm. Once again he locked an arrow in his bow and if there truly was someone further, victim or attacker, he would be ready.

Jumping from the bushes he took a better look at the source of the cries and let out a small gasp of surprise. The deer was now dead, laying on the ground with its eyes closed what shocked him was what, better, who was beside it. A small girl had her body lying across the animal sobbing and trembling, but even if she was barefooted and wore a simple white dress she didn't seem to be trembling with cold, heat even seem to radiate from the little stranger. The only thing that seemed to be able to keep her warm was a brown fur cape.

Her reddish brown hair was as big as her torso and was spread across the ground getting mixed with blood and dirt, Odin was puzzled, in all his years hunting he never saw anyone like the girl in front of him in the forest or even in the village and she seemed to be so hurt by the dead animal in front of her that Odin would have left her alone, but no, he would not leave without that deer.

He started to approach her slowly as to not startle her and worsen her condition, when the sobbing was broken with his first footstep, Odin didn't realize how dry the grass was around the girl and how loud the noise would be in comparison with her cry. The girl suddenly turned around facing him with eyes of pure wrath even if tears were still streaming down her face.

"What do YOU want? Haven't you done enough?" The girl snarled the words as if they were pure poison, closing her hands into a fist and tensing her shoulders she seemed ready to leap onto the hunter and attack him.

"P-pardon, but tha-that is m-my deer." Odin said carefully, as to try and not anger the girl more, she was small but Odin felt a little threated by her. "I shot it f-first."

"As if killing him was NOT ENOUGH" She said the last words and the air seemed to get even hotter "Now you are claiming him as YOURS?" Her skin was now turning into a strange tone of yellow and red, as if her blood was turning into magma.

Odin didn't understand why the girl was so upset, it was only an animal. Surely she knew people killed and ate them, but he still preferred to proceed with caution.

"M'lady, I do n-not wish t-t-to anger yo-you, but I _need_ the de-deer." Odin said sincerely in a firm voice lowering the bow, still locked.

The girl still seemed to be completely livid, her skin even started to glow a faint color of red in her cheeks and her hair appeared to change to a more violent tone of red. But at the tone of Odin's voice she gradually started to calm down, as if she truly understood he didn't kill the animal in vain. Her skin slowly turned back into her copper color, and she let out a long and sad sigh, looking down again at the dead animal.

"Take what you must, but do not show up in front of me again," She shot an angry glare at the hunter, "or I'll make sure you'll regret it."

And after saying that the girl turned for a last look at the dead deer and walked away, and as if time had started to move again the day got brighter and the birds started to tweet. Odin had some stories from his hunts, but never had he encountered such a strange creature. She was beautiful he had to admit though he wasn't sure why she was so upset or how she found herself in summer clothing in the middle of a cold forest.

He worked on the deer and took his guts and other useless parts out so it would be easier to carry, the wind was getting chilly again but he improvised his coat as some sort of sack to carry the meat back home to his family. He never told about the girl he met and the effect she had on the forest, if he did his siblings would only say he was delusional and laugh. One thing was for sure, he wanted to see her again.

* * *

 **Got this idea after Michelle posted this sketch: /avasdemon/status/746143158455656448**

 **Hope you enjoy :3**


	2. The rabbit

Days had passed since he had to return to the forest, winter was harsh and his family needed him now more than never. His younger sister was sick, the plague had spread across the land and it had finally found its way to the small residence. Odin didn't want to leave her side, but food was scarce and Olai couldn't look for game while he was still working as the smith apprentice. Odin had no choice. Fear lurked every corner of the house and it made his heart heavy, but he wouldn't let his family starve.

Things were as peaceful as the last time he set foot on those grounds, for a few precious moments he was too focused to remember all of his worries, or all the consequences he would have to face if he came back empty handed. No, this was just a walk in the woods, a little opportunity to stretch his legs and breathe just fine. He started by setting up traps and looking for tracks, any sign of a good hunt but the woods were as silent as always, this time wouldn't be easy, like always.

 _Ugh. The gods hate me…_

He thought ashe picked up some pine needles and started to chew, his stomach was growling like a wild boar but he wouldn't waste his only meal on the first day. After going down the stream he finally spotted his first prey. A rabbit was a few feet ahead of him and it still hadn't noticed his presence, he carefully reached of his bow and an arrow taking silent steps closer to the animal. But before he could lock the arrow the animal suddenly sprinted away, and Odin immediately followed.

He could still see the rabbit's tail before he lost his footing and his entire body came down. There was only the sound of leaves and rope breaking, he had walked straight to a hole. The fall only lasted a second, he heard a crack and hit his head in the ground making his ears ring and spots dance in his vision, he tried to push himself up but his vision started to blur. He felt a trail of blood fall from his forehead and he fell down to the ground again, passing out.

* * *

When he woke up again the sun was already down, the sky had a beautiful shade of purple and orange. His head was pounding, he sit up slowly but even the slightest movement made him dizzy. He stopped to check on his wounds, his forehead had a gash on its side but the bleeding had coagulated long ago, he tried to get up only to find his ankle was also twisted. Desperation swept over him. He couldn't move, he had no idea how further in he was in the forest.

He lost track of time after he saw the sun set. He couldn't sleep, the sounds of the animals kept him awake and the constant fear of one said animal finding him kept him alert and quiet. How long would it take until the sun rose again? How long had it been, one hour, ten minutes since he saw the last remaining sun light? He wondered if someone would come after him, just to realize he already knew the answer. Olai couldn't afford leaving their sisters alone, not with Magpie's condition, and the twins were too young to go out on their own. No, they wouldn't look for him, only a few in the village were brave enough to wonder into the woods, but even so, they wouldn't know where to find him this deep in the forest.

He rested his head and closed his eyes for a moment. The rustling of leaves jerked him awake, not even realizing he fell asleep. The sun was still rising, and there was fog from the early morning.

He quickly sit up only to immediately regret it, the pain in his head made him still see stars and feel nauseous. Looking up slowly he noticed there was a small rabbit looking down at him. The sight of the critter made him laugh, even a stupid animal came to see what kind of idiot would fall for such a pathetic trap.

"What's so funny?" A voice suddenly paralyzed him. Before looking up he realized the sun started to shine brighter and the temperature rose. He looked up to see the same girl he had once met in the woods. She still had her white summer dress and her fur cape on, her legs were dangling over the edge of the hole and her deep red eyes were staring at him.

"I-it's you!" He got up suddenly and almost fell, his ankle throbbing in pain.

The reaction surprised the girl, only for a second her eyes took a different expression and she seemed to hesitate about something. But it soon came back to scorning, straitening up her pose and holding her nose high.

"It appears you got what you deserved, huh?"

"What?" He tried to move, only to flinch and fall in pain. "W-wha-Who a-are you?"

"I told you," The girl got up, ignoring his question "that you would regret if I ever saw you again." Her eyes were starting to get an ominous red glow in them, her iris turning from red to yellow.

"What d-do you me-mean?" Odin was growing tired of the way she spoke, "Answer m-me girl." He tried to sound as confident as possible.

"This is your punishment. For killing one of the spirits of the forest," She turned around and started to walk away "you shall remain here until your death."

The words echoed in his ears and he watched the weird girl walk away without saying a word. Was she serious? No, she could only be mad. Panic started to rise from his gut and he felt like throwing up, he was now sure help wouldn't come, she wouldn't help him, hell, she might as well be the reason he was there in the first place. Maybe he was the one that was mad, but one thing was for certain for Odin and that was the fear of dying alone in that hole, not ever seeing his family again.

He suddenly started to struggle and try to climb out, but his leg was not in its best shape and he didn't have enough strength to pull himself up. His face was soon soaked in sweat and hot trails of tears. He slumped in the floor and though of his sisters, his brother, his family he would probably never see again.


End file.
